Empowerment through Education (ETE) Ibadan project, this project which Involves refurbishing low income school libraries alongside donation of books was successfully completed on the 28th of September 2019.

The project was executed as a partnership between WholeLife Initiative for Development in Africa (WID-AFRICA)and Foundational Network Africa (FNA) and was sponsored by Youth Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation Foundation (YEPAF).

We plastered, painted and floored the library and also donated 50 books.

The launch was done alongside Commemoration of International Literacy Day 2019. The program started at 11:20am with the second stanza of the national anthem and an introductory address by the Cofounder of WholeLife Initiative (Chimere' Ulukwu). She thanked the school for the opportunity to work with them and gave a brief introduction of the 3 organisations present.

After the welcome address, the Founder of FNA (Rosemond Edem) anchored the debate and spelling bees competition between the sss3 and sss2 students. The formal opening of the library was thereafter anchored by Taiwo Damilola the Founder of YEPAF.

The principal expressed gratitude to the organisations for coming up with such an initiative, she charged the students to make good use of the library and improve in their literary abilities.

The gifts were presented to the winning team of the competitions and a N5,000 school fees bursary was issued to the best speaker (debate).

The Bridge Leadership Foundation’s Career Day is a platform for creating common grounds, sharing relevant practices, ideas, methodologies and innovations that deliver evident results that have been tested and tried in several instances by experts across the globe.

On this 9th Career Day, Foundational Network Africa sponsored a few social leaders from the Eastern Region of Nigeria to attend the Conference in Calabar.
The Theme was: Technology and Innovation; Opportunities, Challenges and the Future. The program had over 5,000 youths in attendance from different states and different organizations. The Keynote Speaker as well as Panelists from different sectors in Nigeria shared their experiences which helped young people explore innovative ideas for tackling challenges in education, employability and building strong sustainable communities etc.

During the program the speakers also emphasized on the importance of technology and how they are changing the future of the workplace and how to leverage it so as not be left behind. Each of the speakers encouraged the youths to embrace technology.

At the end of the day there were questions every youth needs to answer
● Will you learn more about technology
● Will you use technology based products
● Will you be inventing new technology

Whichever answer you give the most important thing is that you embrace technology.

On the 11th of October 2019 we joined the rest of the world to celebrate girls at Government secondary school Akansoko, Calabar. The United Nations theme for this year is GirlForce: Unscripted and Unstoppable which seeks to encourage girls to rise beyond stereotypes by changing narratives surrounding them.
We had an amazing time with girls who got to learn from our various mentors who shared their personal experiences. Our Lead, Rosemond Edem gave the opening remarks and encouraged the girls to have an open mind to learn and also take back key learnings to their homes.

Miss Vanessa Richard our Social Leader spoke to the girls on Maintaining the right self esteem, she encouraged the girls to keep their chin up and look beyond limitations and negative words that were constantly dished out on them, she also stressed that it is important to believe in self and abilities even when others don't.

Mr Genesis Ulakom an FNA social leader spoke to the girls on purpose discovery, he explained to the girls that for everyone born on earth there is a purpose and a need to meet, he encouraged the girls to find their purpose, pay attention to things they are passionate about, ask questions and above all keep pushing.

During the seminar we had a competition between the Ss1-Ss3 Students who were tasked to tell a true story about a "Brave Moment' in their life where they were faced with challenges and how they were able to overcome it. They girls shared heartbreaking stories which left us saddened at what girls between 15-17 should ever go through.

We also took the girls on Digital Skills training which was anchored by our social leader Winner Kelechi, he took the girls on basic computer programming and also explained basic computer knowledge, Deborah Archibong and Elizabeth Idor had crafts sessions with girls, exposed them to Ankara crafts and bead making techniques which would serve as entrepreneurial ideas for affordable businesses they could start.
After the seminar we awarded the best 3 Story telling and also had the girls go through a problem/critical thinking session analyzing problems in their community and suggesting possible solutions to those problems.

We are grateful to have shared those moments.

On the 8th of July 2019 our lead Rosemond Edem had the opportunity to sit as a panelist at the International Youth Day event organized by Nigerian SDGs Network in partnership with BrenCare Foundation and Youths Africa in Calabar, Cross River State. She was also able to share her SDG story, journey as a ONE Champion & ONE's involvement in pushing for better policies in the Education Sector.

Discussing on this year’s Theme “Transforming Education” She shared with young people the importance of being exposed to quality lifelong learning opportunities. Formal education and training systems often do not reach marginalized youth or cater to young women, rural or indigenous youth, or youth with physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities, leaving them without the skills needed to realize their potential or aspirations. This calls attention to the importance of leaving no youth behind and of finding new and innovative ways to provide all youth with the hard and soft skills and training necessary for today’s labour market.

Foundational Network Africa is a volunteer based organization that exposes young social leaders to the value they can contribute to their community by using their voices in amplifying issues around them whilst working together to alleviate the issue. Volunteers engage as advocates in addressing developmental issues in various sectors ranging from Education, Health, and Entrepreneurship, predominantly working on issues surrounding quality education.

We believe that education goes beyond what is been taught in the class rooms which may not be relevant at the time, we want young people to see the roles they can play first in their homes and in their communities which is why we refer to ourselves as social impact leaders.

We believe that Education should drive a hunger to know more, it shouldn’t just be about the examinations but what moral development has the young person received while in school, we have more young people coming into the unemployment space clueless and most engaged into violent activities, If we had more courses focused on creativity, skills development, Entrepreneurship and Leadership we would have raise more leaders that are self-aware and also optimistic about their value.

The education system should impart academic knowledge, career and life skills, social norms, values and accepted behaviors to successive generations; all too often, however, this ideal is not met.

Education should also encourage social interaction as students should be able to relate with tutors who would be delivering information that is relevant, concise and Understandable. Education should go beyond a teacher who has studied Education in University delivering lectures but focus should be on teachers who have developed good Interpersonal skills and can relate with the students and share information with ease.

Quality education should embrace the diversity of youth livelihoods and in so doing address gender inequalities and the needs of marginalized and vulnerable youth. UNESCO stated that the growth in primary enrolment was leading to a “crisis in learning”, as inadequately educated and trained teachers were not equipped to impart foundational literacy and numeracy skills.

Don’t forget, if you want to want to go fast go alone but if you want to go far, go together.

On the 29th of June, We held our induction meeting for our new leaders who will be championing change in their various communities.

We discussed in depth our roles as young people in achieving the SDG's, narrowing down our focus to SDG 4 which is quality education.

At FNA we are not only concerned about intervention programs but we also engage advocacy for policy implementation.

We talked a lot about how it's important to position ourselves as young people in seeking for the needed changes in our environment.

We also learned about advocacy, teamwork, FNA's focus areas, mission, vision, our work in tackling educational problems and our role as young people.

We also discussed our program plans and how we intend to engage our leaders to take bold steps in the community.

FNA in partnership with Visiollence Consulting hosted a Talent Mastery Class for young people to help them discover and develop their talents.

Talent Mastery Seminar is a flagship programme of Visiollence Consulting, positioned to tackle the problem of youth unemployability through helping people discover, develop and profitably deploy their talents.

This training programme is designed to impact on the skills, attitude and knowledge of the participants. We had over 100 participants expectant and ready to take up new challenges.

Our lead, Rosemond Edem took the participants through a breakout session where we had them grouped into teams to identify a problem and how they can solve them using innovative techniques.

Volunteers and ONE Champions were gathered as early as 7.30am to set up the venue and handled logistics like the decoration of the stage, setting up registration tables and the green carpet, as well as the technical aspects of the event.

By 9.30am, volunteers and ONE Champions were briefed by Mr. Olalekan Obisesan (Campaign Assistant, ONE) on what was expected of them to make the event a success and roles were assigned. Last minute checks were put in place to ensure the smooth running of the event.

Soon after, attendees began trickling into the venue and personal details were gotten in the attendance sheets that were provided. This was handled by the volunteers in charge of ushering. Gifts given to the first 200 people included ONE branded t-shirts and pens, as well as napkins.

The event finally kicked off in record time with Christopher Ekom (ONE Volunteer) and Jennifer Ezeonyeasi (ONE Champion) as moderators. They welcomed attendees and introduced the hash tag of the event as #VoteyYourFuture.

Rosemond Edem (ONE Champion) was then called up to give the welcome address which she did with so much grace and gusto.

This was followed by a spoken word performance by Regina Idor (ONE volunteer) on the theme for the event.

Mr. Olalekan Makanjuola (Digital Campaigns Officer, ONE) then spoke about the ONE organization and introduced the Vote Your Future Ad launch.

As special guest to the summit we had the presence of The University Librarian, Asso (Prof) Mrs Nkoyo B. Edem who was called to address the attendees and she spoke to the youths gathered as people aspiring for greatness to be wary of their actions because they can have very dire consequences on their tomorrow.

The first panel discussion then commenced with Mr. Joseph Idiege (SWITCH Academy), Enyam Kelvin (SUG President, University of Calabar), Anthony Ayamba (Lecturer, Department of Public Administration) Kennedy Nsan (Lecturer, International Relations, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife) and Rosemond Edem (ONE Champion) as panelists.

The discussion was centered on the question – As a citizen, what do you think the new government should focus on and why? Also taking into consideration the challenges youths face as concerns job creation, education, health, etc. It was an interactive session as attendees had the freedom to express their views and ask questions as it relates to the role of young people in governance and leadership.

Afterwards, a song performance by Jessey Godson had everyone singing along and re- affirming their faith in Nigeria and in the power of our collective effort to make Nigeria Better.

Mr. Olalekan Obisesan spoke about the youth declaration and also coordinated the raffle draw alongside, ONE Champions and panelists presented t-shirts and pens as gifts to the attendees who were selected during the raffle draw.

The second panel discussion commenced soon after with Barr. Iniobong Udoh (Lead Attorney, HillCity Attorneys), Benedicta Uweru (ONE Champion), and Dr. Inah Okon (Pioneer Ag, Head of department, Architecture, UNICAL), Emmanuel Echa (Knowledge expert), Blessing Idagu (Programs Coordinator, Ikapture Networks) as panelists. This session was moderated by Janice Cobham (OAP, CRBC). The focus was on these questions:- what criteria will you use to vote for your president in 2019? What about Nigeria are you most hopeful about?

Overall we got young people eager and ready to exercise their right at the upcoming elections not voting based on sentiments but based on issues. More t-shirts were shared and the event which came to a close at 2pm. We had a total of over 470 participants at the venue and 507 declaration cards registered both at the venue and during the publicity.

On 23rd of February 2019, we executed a vision board training, we had a great time looking at seven areas; Professional, financial, spiritual, education, family, personal, leisure and how we can carefully plan out our year taking notes of parameters.

On the 21st September 2018, Brencare Foundation in collaboration with Foundational Network Africa (FNA) commenced her first Leadership and Hygiene Club meeting at Government Secondary School, Henshaw Town, Calabar, Cross River State. The Leadership and Hygiene Club aims to address problems young adolescents’ face which includes poor socialization, peer pressure, career choices, self-development etc. Facilitators from Brencare Foundation and Foundational Network Africa included; Victoria Archibong, Deborah Archibong, Blessed Orji, Francisca Effanga, Amah Archibong.

Miss Victoria started off the meeting by welcoming the selected students, after which Deborah Archibong opened the meeting with a prayer. To heighten the atmosphere and dive into the business of the day Miss Andifon introduced some icebreakers before teaching menstrual hygiene. She highlighted what it means to have menstrual hygiene and pointed out ways a girl child can put her hygiene in check during menstruation. She also emphasized on putting on clean underwear, bathing at least twice a day (not using soap on the genital, but clean water) and also cultivating a healthy eating habit during this period.
Giving a talk next was Miss Deborah Archibong, an FNA Social Leader who anchored a discussion on adolescents and puberty alongside Miss Victoria. Deborah started by asking the students who an adolescent is?. Several answers were given by the students, she also stated the various problems an adolescent faces and challenges they are prone to. She rounded up her discussion saying that Adolescence is a period of psychological and social transitioning between childhood and adulthood which every parent and guardian must pay attention to.
Miss Victoria Archibong went further to talk about puberty, what puberty is, at what age puberty occurs, physical changes in male and female during the period of puberty. She went further to advise the students to join the Leadership and Hygiene Club powered by Brencare Foundation in association with Foundational Network Africa which is out to ensure that every child maintains good personal hygiene and is indoctrinated with proper health tips. She stated out some benefit of the club to the student which include;
● Building self-esteem and self-confidence in young people.
● Teaching young adolescents on how to better understand the changes in their body.
● Training on Entrepreneurship skills.
● Providing free sanitary products for marginalized girls.

At the end of the training an ss3 student of Government Secondary School Henshaw Town, Miss Comfort Offiong appreciated the team for their time and effort.

Humanitarians Meet and Cocktails Event is a gathering for individuals in the social sector and those who desire to make a difference in their society to connect, learn and benefit from experiences of people whose ventures and organizations have helped create the needed change.

Humanitarians Meet and Cocktails is a pilot program of Foundational Network Africa, This event allowed for Organizations to network, form partnerships that can bring solutions to the various problems they seek to solve, individuals to learn from challenges and experiences organizations face in the social sector, individuals to ask questions, create conversations and relax in a friendly environment. This year’s gathering focused on the theme 21st Century Humanitarians: Trail Blazers, we were able to identify the various roles young people can play in their communities. Rosemond Edem, Team Lead Foundational Network in her opening statements welcomed the participants to the event and appreciated them for the bold step they took in attending a flagship program organized by the Network, she spoke about the network, the vision, which is to build a network of young social impact leaders who are passionate about making a difference in their community and also what FNA stands for in youth development. She expressed her gratitude and also encouraged the participants to leverage on their platforms in creating the needed change, she further encouraged the leaders to network with others, have great expectations and most importantly to learn and relearn.

Our speakers at the event included; Grace Ihejiamaizu of IKapture Networks, Brenda Effiom of Brencare Foundation and other speakers. Grace Ihejiamaizu while speaking on the sub theme; Building Sustainable Organizations/Initiatives encouraged the young leaders that in staying relevant there is a need to be authentic, skilled, emphatic and also a great need to take actions. She further emphasized that in setting up an initiative, the goal should be in view. Brenda Effiom of Brencare Foundation spoke on the Sub theme: The ecstasy of Being Humanitarian, she started off with telling her story of how she conceived the idea of helping young adolescent girls understand their personal hygiene and also help work on their self-esteem, she further encouraged the young leaders present that “Passion is not enough for you to start an initiative but skill is necessary”.
The event which held on the 1st of September 2018 at Jorany Hotel, Calabar, Cross River State recorded a total of over 36 persons in attendance, We had a participatory session were the participants were given an opportunity to talk about the various solutions they are providing to problems in their communities ranging from helping disabled people, street kids, providing tech solutions, teaching entrepreneurship skills to young people, reaching out to orphans, providing medical assistance to accident victims etc. An opportunity was given for young leaders to ask questions and also fine tune the activities each participant was doing currently in their various initiatives.

We had Break the ice activities where each participant was expected to talk about a little known fact about themselves, interview other participants and get to learn in the process. In our objective to build young people we had young teenagers from a group called Experteens exhibit their hand made products which also encouraged other young persons present.
At the end of the event we were able to address the problems faced by the participants which included;
● How to maintain partnerships
●How to raise funds for projects
● How to get required result from the organization
● How to multitask while meeting organizational goals
● How to stay relevant by defining in clear terms the problem and the solution.
The Humanitarians Meet and Cocktails Event also supported collaboration within and between the various participants as well as encouraging networking. This was achieved not only through event proceedings, but also through good attendance and engagements during the event.

Feedback from the event proved that participants enjoyed an avenue to meet like-minded people from various backgrounds and professional experiences, the opportunity and platform to network, learn from one another and the chance to explore ideas.

Team Lead Foundational Network Africa in her closing statements emphasized the need for leaders to create partnerships that can also help solve major issues they hope to delve into and provide solutions to. She appreciated everyone for coming and also urged them to take into practice all they have received.

On November 15 2018, our social leaders served as volunteers at the Bridge Awards programme 2018 organized by The Bridge Leadership Foundation.

It was an eye-opener, getting to see teenagers and students still in secondary school successfully portray leadership skills and carrying out community development programmes. Indeed they are the future of our nation and we are proud of them.

Thanks to the Bridge Leadership foundation that has provided the platform for them to soar.

We can do more in our own way and in our little corners. Let's join hands and take our nation to the peak.

On the 28th of June 2018 four ONE Champions comprising of (Rosemond Edem, Melanie Tejiri, Fausiat Bakare, Benedicta Uweru and Rotimi Alao) came together to host a tweet chat with focus on the theme “Is Cancer a Death Sentence for a poor Nigerian?

According to WHO statistics, the Nigerian cancer death ratio of 4 in 5 is one of the worst in the whole world. The remarkably poor outcome of Cancer in Nigeria is due to: late diagnosis, inadequate treatment facilities and huge financial burden of treatment makes cancer a perfect case study to create awareness on the impact of poor health care funding on the health and survival of Nigerians.

The purpose of the Tweet Chat was to stir up conversations on health issues faced by Nigerians due to poor health facilities and poor funding for healthcare. The tweet chat also created a platform to sensitize Nigerians on the need to support the #MakeNaijaStronger Campaign: to ensure that 1% of the Consolidated Revenue Fund is transferred to the Basic Health Care Provision Fund.

We were able to reach out to over 600,000 accounts with this message and got them to see the importance of adding their voice to the Make Naija Stronger Campaign. We had a total of 100 Tweets, engaged over 30 Contributors through the official hashtag #MakeNaijaStronger #PovertyandCancer and had over 4 million impressions.

During the course of the tweet chat, we had the father of a sick child get in touch with us through the twitter handle. The child, diagnosed with a brain stem tumor, is presently undergoing treatment in Egypt. Indeed, the reality of the scourge of cancer dwells with us.

His sharing of a sad and touching personal experience as he battled to save his daughters life reveals the need for greater awareness, diagnostic technologies and proficient health systems that ensures early diagnosis and effective management of cancer.

We also engaged the public through online polls to get their general perspective on Cancer related issues and create a discuss around the state of the Health Care System in Nigeria. The tweet chat was hosted by a Twitter influencer @marapolsa and facilitated by Dr. Mmachi Nwosu a Medical Officer at Joebong’s Skin and Medical Center Calabar, Cross River State who spoke on the theme and responded to questions.